In John 10, Jesus contrasts Himself as the Good Shepherd, with the hireling.
The hireling runs away when the sheep are endangered. But Jesus knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.
Thus, Jesus underscores the personal knowledge between Himself and His sheep as part of the difference between Himself and the hirelings of this world.
The Jews who heard Jesus recognized that He was appropriating to Himself the Old Testament metaphor of God as the Shepherd of His People, His Sheep.
Oftentimes, the Lord identified Himself as the Shepherd of His people.
By calling Himself the Good Shepherd, Jesus was identifying Himself as Messiah, God manifest in the flesh!
Psalm 23 is the best known example, and Jesus embraced several of the Psalmist's descriptions, such as providing His sheep green pastures.
In Ezekiel 34, God denounces the false and wicked shepherds who abused His people, His sheep. They didn't bind their wounds, or provide them pasture land, or protect them from the wild beasts. Instead, they slaughtered the sheep for their own eating.
But God promised HE would seek out His lost sheep, and feed them, and protect them. In fact, God promised He would appoint ONE Shepherd, of the House of David, to defend and guard and make safe His Sheep, His people.
The Lord Jesus announced that He is Himself that promised Shepherd, appointed by God, to save His sheep!
The wicked folks who heard Jesus scoffed at His claims, called Him demon-possessed and crazy, then they tried to stone Him to death.
Jesus raises the bar for what it means to be a good shepherd. Any Shepherd who won't give His life for the sheep is just in it for the money, a dirty hireling! |
